Tag: Columbus Dispatch

The public can’t find out how many times students are caught bringing guns into Ohio schools, or how those incidents are punished, because the Ohio Department of Education claims FERPA requires withholding those statistics, the Columbus Dispatch reported Dec. 10. According to the Dispatch, the Ohio DOE insists that reporting the number of gun-discipline cases… Continue reading Ohio schools withhold gun statistics, citing FERPA privacy

Managing unruly kids who lash out at classmates and teachers is one of the most delicate tasks for schools, and those who must manage emergencies when physical safety is at stake understandably resist being second-guessed.But there's evidence that students are at times pinned, tied up or locked away in closet-sized isolation rooms for just being annoying even if they do not present a danger to others.Federal statistics indicate that disabled students and racial minorities are disproportionately likely to be placed under physical restraint, raising questions about whether the safety measures are administered even-handedly.Finding out what techniques your school district uses to respond to assaultive kids -- and how often -- should be a matter of a single public records request.

Following the Columbus Dispatch's revelation that collegeathletic departments routinely invoke federal "education privacy"laws to refuse to release airplane passenger manifests, complementary ticketlists and other non-educational documents, the Student Press Law Center isjoining leading Ohio elected officials in calling for reforms.